If your summer vacation plans include exploring sandstone canyons, watching wildlife or gawking at geothermal wonders, this may not be the year to do so at a national park.
National Park Service staffing cuts have created uncertainty at many of the most popular destinations, including Zion, Great Smoky Mountains and Yellowstone. That is likely to mean long waits, big crowds and unexpected closures.
But state parks, which are run and funded separately from national parks, offer comparable landscapes, wildlife and experiences — often with fewer crowds and lower fees.
There are more than 9,800 state parks, forests, preserves and other sites, said Paul McCormack, the president of the National Association of State Park Directors. In 2022, state-run parks collectively welcomed 877 million visitors, Mr. McCormack said, compared with 332 million at the 433 N.P.S. sites.
State properties offer access to “everything from cave tours in Alabama to Wyoming state parks with petroglyphs to white-water rafting in Pennsylvania,” Mr. McCormack said.
And many of them, it turns out, are not far from national parks, making them alternative destinations for an outdoorsy summer vacation. Here are five state parks within a three-hour drive of their national park doppelgängers.
Colorado
State Forest State Park
At 71,000 acres, State Forest, Colorado’s largest state park, is only a fraction of the size of the 266,000-acre Rocky Mountain National Park. But this gem also sees a fraction of the crowds, despite a similarly stunning landscape of snow-fed lakes, soaring mountains and alpine forests packed with pine, spruce and aspen trees.
Though the two parks are practically neighbors, driving from one to the other takes nearly two hours because no paved roads traverse the 12,000-foot peaks between them. State Forest, less than 30 minutes from Walden, Colo. (population 557), is home to as many as 600 moose, making it Colorado’s top location for spotting the animals.
Many visitors go to Rocky Mountain to drive Trail Ridge Road, which offers vistas you can take in from your vehicle. At State Forest, the panoramas may take a bit more effort to enjoy. “You do have some views there which are absolutely gorgeous, but you may have to hike a bit to see some of them,” said Jason Rincker, 54, a user experience designer from Fort Collins, Colo.
State Forest offers easy fishing in stocked lakes and, for those looking for more of a challenge, cutthroat trout in backcountry waters, “and the night skies are amazing because you can so clearly see the Milky Way,” Mr. Rincker said.
State Forest has a visitor center and charges a daily entry fee of $12 per vehicle or $4 for an individual pass. It’s open 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. and has 228 campsites, six cabins and seven yurts. Campsite reservations are required and can be made online.
Utah
Snow Canyon State Park
Situated in the red rock country just northwest of St. George, Utah, and only about a 45-minute drive from Zion National Park, Snow Canyon State Park features sandstone cliffs, sweeping views, slot canyons and lava formations.
As at Zion, popular activities at Snow Canyon include hiking, biking, climbing and horseback riding. Its 7,400 acres sit within the 62,000-acre Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, home to coyotes, roadrunners, kit foxes and canyon tree frogs.
“It’s a hidden gem, a diamond just next to town,” said Jessica Taggart Marron, 45, a real estate agent from St. George, 15 minutes away. “It’s spectacular and stunning and a wonderful retreat with these little pockets that are all different.”
Ms. Marron often visits Snow Canyon to journal or hike, and said she especially enjoys renting e-bikes and riding through the park.
Snow Canyon is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and has a visitor center and a campground with 36 sites that can be reserved online. Nonresidents pay a day-use fee of $15 per vehicle; for Utah residents, it’s $10.
North Carolina
DuPont State Recreational Forest
With 12,400 acres of rolling mountain landscapes and four major waterfalls, DuPont State Recreational Forest is a local favorite for fishing, hiking, horseback riding and mountain biking. The forest, about 40 miles south of Asheville, N.C., is also 90 minutes from Great Smoky Mountains, the most visited national park in the United States.
Featuring four lakes, DuPont is home to a dizzying variety of plants and animals, including five types of clover, three orchid species and wildlife ranging from bobcats to black bears and snakes to salamanders.
Waterfalls are a major attraction. Julie Cooley, 64, activity director and volunteer coordinator for Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Community in Asheville, said she often takes residents with limited mobility to a picnic shelter that can be reserved online because it has wheelchair-accessible facilities and a close view of 120-foot High Falls.
Scenic drives and trails lead to attractions like a covered bridge, swimming holes and spring wildflower blooms. DuPont has a visitor center, does not charge an entry fee and is open daily from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Public campsites are available 28 miles away at Gorges State Park.
Wyoming
Hot Springs State Park
Nothing fully compares to the wonders of Yellowstone, the world’s first national park. But for those seeking roaming bison, a multicolored travertine terrace and a relaxing soak in hot mineral water, Hot Springs State Park, less than 150 miles southeast of Yellowstone, comes close.
Every day, the 1,100-acre park’s Big Spring discharges more than 1.8 million gallons of 128-degree water, flowing into the Bighorn River and several different soaking pools, including one at a free, state-run public bathhouse. Hiking, fishing and picnicking are popular at Hot Springs.
With the Legend Rock Petroglyph Site — home to 283 etchings dating back 10,000 years — just 30 miles away, the Hot Springs State Park area “is an amazing and unique place,” said Milward Simpson, 62, former director of the Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources. “There’s an incredible variety of spectacular resources all right there.”
Hot Springs State Park has no entry fee and even encompasses part of the town of Thermopolis, which has a visitor center and is home to the Wyoming Dinosaur Center. Public camping is 21 miles away at Boysen State Park via a drive on the breathtaking Wind River Canyon Scenic Byway.
Florida
Jonathan Dickinson State Park
Like the sprawling 1.5-million-acre Everglades National Park, the 10,500-acre Jonathan Dickinson State Park is popular for hiking, biking, fishing and paddling. It also features the 86-foot-tall ancient sand dune known as Hobe Mountain, the highest natural point south of Lake Okeechobee. Visitors can climb to the top on a boardwalk.
Jonathan Dickinson is about six miles northwest of Jupiter, along Florida’s Atlantic Coast, just over two hours’ drive from the northern edge of Everglades National Park.
The park’s ecological diversity is a major draw, said Emily Dark, 44, who manages Explore Natural Martin, a local ecotourism program. “They have the wetlands, beautiful pine flatwoods and the Loxahatchee River,” she said.
Designated a wild and scenic river, the Loxahatchee “gets narrower the farther you go, with large oak trees and Spanish moss hanging down,” Ms. Dark said of paddling its waters. “It’s so beautiful — it’s like going back in time.”
Wildlife watchers can spot bobcats, foxes, otters, alligators, turtles and manatees, with more than 150 bird species flying among mangrove, cypress, palmetto and pine trees.
Jonathan Dickinson has a visitor center and charges an entry fee of $6 per vehicle. The park is open from 8 a.m. until sunset, and has 142 campsites that can be reserved online, along with additional horse-friendly and glamping campsites.
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